Beside the Datchworth to Bramfield road can be found a post bearing the title ‘Clibbon’s Post’ and the date 28.12.1782. The post marks the resting place of a notorious criminal Walter Clibbon who terrorised that part of Hertfordshire.

Walter Clibbon and his three sons sold pies and cakes at Hertford market and country fairs but that was not their sole source of income. In the guise of pie men they would listen in on conversations and find out which people had made money that day. Then they would change into the guise of highwaymen and lie in wait for the unsuspecting victims who they would attack and rob as they made their way home. Even Mrs. Clibbon was not adverse to donning a disguise and joining her family on their outings. As a good measure they would usually savagely beat up their victims as well.

On December 28th 1782 they waylaid a young Datchworth man named William Whittenbury as he came through the woods at Oakenvalley Bottom. Whittenbury knew the reputation of the robbers so he allowed himself to be robbed then immediately went to nearby Queen Hoo Hall where his uncle Benjamin Whittenbury lived. Together with Benjamin’s servant, Shock North and a gun they returned to the wood where the Clibbons were awaiting there next victim. A gun battle then ensued which saw the Whittenbury’s getting the worst of it and in dire peril for their lives. Benjamin was knocked down and fearing for his life he called to his servant to fire. Shock fired and hit the father Walter Clibbon. One of the sons escaped but the other was captured. It is here that the versions of the story differ. Of the two accounts one has Walter being killed by the bullet but in the other he survived though he probably wished he hadn’t. In the latter version of the tale he was tied to a horse and dragged to Bull’s Green where he was clubbed to death by the angry locals. In both tales he was then taken to the Horns public house and his body left overnight in an outhouse while the locals celebrated. In the version of the story in which Clibbon was shot dead the locals tied his body to a horse the next day and dragged it through the village. In a contemporary report it says that ‘they dragged it up and down the Green and through the furze to their heart’s content, and when satisfied, they took it back to the Horns’ outhouse’. The captured son was tried at the Assizes and later hanged for his part in the crimes.

The locals would not have Clibbon buried in consecrated ground so they decided to bury him where he met his end. To ensure he did not return they drove a stout wooden post through his heart. On the post was the inscription:

The post was supposed to stop Clibbon’s ghost from walking but evening travellers in the area have seen the shadowy shape of a horse pulling a writhing black body. Other people have heard the sounds of the horses’ hooves and the groans of the pie man.

The post stands on the left hand side of the Bramfield Road as you travel northwest towards Bull’s Green about two hundred metres from the junction with Tewin Hill. If you travel by car parking is difficult as the road is narrow but there are a few places you can pull in especially at the top of Tewin Hill. You can’t really miss the post as it is quite large and sits atop an embankment. Some people say that the post should really be placed closer to Bull’s Green but if William Whittenbury was waylaid at Oakenvalley Bottom then, as the name suggests, this would be a valley. The post is currently placed at a point near the top of a hill which rises towards Bull’s Green but the junction of the Bramfield Road and Tewin Hill is a definite valley and the only valley thereabouts.

To view a map of the area click on the button below



To view images see: Bramfield Album

To view a report about Clibbon’s Post see: 29-10-2004